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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25458166">Like Fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jurdanhell/pseuds/jurdanhell'>jurdanhell</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Folk of the Air - Holly Black</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, QoN - Freeform, Queen of nothing - Freeform, TW: fire??, but it’s there - Freeform, do vivi &amp; heather have a ship name??, its not a heavy description description, jurdan - Freeform, nicaryn, tcp, tfota, the cruel prince - Freeform, the folk of the air, the queen of nothing, the wicked king, tqon, twk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:47:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25458166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jurdanhell/pseuds/jurdanhell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jurdan visits the mortal world to decorate the Christmas tree.<br/>the Christmas tree is not what was decorated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar, Taryn Duarte/Nicasia, Vivienne Duarte/Heather</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Like Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>TW:</b> fire<br/>no graphic descriptions, but it’s still there</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In Vivi’s apartment, everyone sat gathered in a circle unpacking Christmas decorations. Cardan had asked Jude about certain decorations as he plucked them out of the cardboard boxes labeled <em> X-Mas, </em> and she was almost tempted to tell him absurdly wrong details.</p><p>She’d stood, left to retrieve something from the guest room she and Cardan stayed in during their visits. It was small; a bed and a night table, with a small closet that had a few mortal outfits tucked away.</p><p>Cardan held up a large star ornament and turned to Oak. Oak, who sat next to him silently holding popsicle stick ornaments he’d glued together in school and organizing them by colour, and then deciding it was better to do so by size. “What’s this one?”</p><p>Oak turned to him, and his eyes lit with excitement. “It’s a tree topper! It goes on top of the tree, like a finishing touch!” He said, every exclamation showing his enthusiasm. Cardan glanced at the tree, and then the topper.</p><p>Jude’s socked feet padded across the carpeted floor, stopping short as she watched her husband turn the glittery star over in his hand, a trail of stardust glinting in his palms. Their soft conversation drifted to her, the silly curiosity of his questions making her heart swell.</p><p>Cardan glanced to Oak, a soft smile playing at the corner of his lips as he placed the star on top of his head. <em> There, </em> he mouthed. Or perhaps he had said it so quietly Jude couldn’t hear him. She stalked over to him, landing with a soft <em> plop </em>before reaching over and adjusting it.</p><p>He stilled beneath her touch until she’d removed her hands, pulling them back and folding them in her lap. “Crooked,” she said. That was all. Cardan mirrored her small smile, shy but sure. </p><p>“Oh!” Oak exclaimed, turning their attention to him. He pulled out a heap of Christmas lights and had started pulling random strands before passing them to Jude in defeat as he hung his head in silence. She detangled them quicker than he would’ve thought possible, if Jude wasn’t the most super person ever — there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do.</p><p>Oak giggled, whispering something in Cardan’s ear. He raised a single brow in return, a questionable curiosity shining in his eyes. Jude crossed her arms; there was no way this would end well.</p><p>He caught hold of his tail, holding it in his lap, though there was no way he could hide the small flicks of the end he didn’t hold, the soft tuft brushing against Jude’s thigh. Oak gingerly wrapped the lights around his tail, stifling laughter the whole way.</p><p>Jude shook her head, looking around the room. Beside Oak was Heather, who sat next to Vivi. Then there was Taryn, who was separated from Vivi by the tree that Cardan wasn’t quite sure why they needed inside. Nicasia sat next to Taryn, who looked anxious from the mess strung across the floor in between all of them. Jude wasn’t sure she knew exactly what was going on, either, but made no attempt to find out.</p><p>Oak handed the plug to Heather, who opened her mouth to ask a question, before deciding against it. She turned, passing the plug to Vivi who sat closest to the extension cord. Vivi plugged them in, the sudden, warm light gathering everyone’s attention.</p><p>The soft glow from the lights mimicked a fire, Cardan thought. Jude pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head to herself.</p><p>“We should wrap it in a popcorn garland!” Oak announced. Cardan asked if that was what it sounded like, being suddenly reminded of the popcorn he and Jude shared last week when they watched a horror movie that he may or may not have gotten over.</p><p>He explained that it was, in fact, exactly what it sounded like. Vivi chimed in, telling him that they were not making popcorn <em> just to look at. </em></p><p>“What about tinsel?” He asked, reaching for the unopened bag. The shiny slivers of disaster reflecting the soft glow of the Christmas lights back at him. Heather snatched the bag, shaking her head. </p><p>“No tinsel.”</p><p>Oak grumbled to himself, “What’s the point of buying it if you won’t even let me use it?” Jude laughed, quickly covering it up with a cough. Cardan elbowed her in the side and Jude coughed harder.</p><p>His tail was much heavier now, and it couldn’t swish behind him no matter how desperately it tried to. Cardan made a face.</p><p>It itched, at first. And then it burned. It was a silent panic that only Jude seemed to notice, everyone else enveloped in conversation. His fingers fumbled with the cords before Jude gently batted them away, carefully unraveling his tail from the strands. Cardan took them from her hands and placed them on the couch behind them, their luminance forgotten. </p><p>His tail wrapped around his torso then flipped around and curled around Jude’s arm. She brushed the soft tuft between her thumb and forefinger gently, slowly losing herself in the conversation. </p><p>“Vivi, did you leave the oven on?” Heather asked, moving stuff off her lap to stand.</p><p>“Me? Cook? Funny.” She said, not bothering to turn to her.</p><p>Heater stood, stretching towards the ceiling. “Probably the heater, then,” She decided, watching the snow drift past the streetlamps outside. She turned, definitely not expecting to see the couch on fire. Exactly how long had the Christmas lights been left on?</p><p>Cardan and Jude, Heather and Vivi and Oak, and now, Taryn and Nicasia stood gathered on the sidewalk, huddled together like they were caroling.</p><p>One of the firefighters walked over, looking backward as the rest of his team put out the remnants of the fire. “Which one of you left the Christmas lights on?” Slowly, everyone turned to Cardan, who was scratching behind his head and smiling nervously. “You know those are flammable, right?”</p><p>“I do now,” he said, his tail twisting around Jude’s calf.</p><p>The firefighter turned on his heel and returned to the rest of his team shaking his head to himself. Jude offered Vivi and Heather a room in the palace, with their reluctant agreement. She turned back to Cardan, who didn’t entirely seem to know what to say. He looked up at her, his smile quick. His tail tightened on her calf.</p><p>“Merry Christmas.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading :( &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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